February #jammed: Dunked in Grace 

Day 52: We can only handle so much…

“ He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Luke 22:42

My kids are constantly asking to go into the hot tub when we’re on vacation, and over the years our fears of what might happen to their tiny selves immersed in those hot temperatures has lessened a bit. So, on occasion, we let them swim in the sauna of hot water. They don’t want to sit there and relax, they just want to swim in whatever water everyone else is allowed in. It’s a permissional thing, I think. Sometimes, they are only allowed to stick their feet in. It makes no sense to them, but it’s for their protection. Some hot tubs are hotter than others.

What seems unfair to us in this life is actually God’s grace covering us. I believe He will only let us walk so far away before He tugs us back to Him. We may not understand our limitations, but they are for our own good, otherwise our great God who loves us perfectly wouldn’t allow them to challenge our lives. God can heal infirmary in an instant, but it’s not always in our best interest. Impossible for us to understand, which is why He is God and we are us.

“Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” Luke 22:43-44 

Faith in unfair circumstances is hard, but our Father is faithful to strengthen us to stand up underneath them. It’s easier to praise God when things are painless. The power of the Holy Spirit helps us cope in the sting of bitterness …and jealousy …and hopes deferred. And that Spirit of comfort comes down by way of the cross. Jesus cried to His Father in today’s verse. It was unfair, what was about to happen. But He faced it anyway, to save us all. He died for us, because He trusted His Father. We can walk through our days in full confidence that God is for us.

Father, Praise You for the strength You supplied Jesus in His time of agony. Thank You for extending the same solace of hope when we are hurt, confused, and afraid. We confess our scrambling to make sense of things that are not going to here on this earth. Bless our hearts to be fortified with the strength that Jesus had …to pray and cry out to You, our Protector and loving Father. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What hope deferred was actually God’s protection in your life? Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace! 

#greatgrace17

Happy Hot-tubbing!

Megs

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